Eshtaol
title: "Eshtaol" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["moshavim", "populated-places-established-in-1949", "populated-places-in-jerusalem-district", "yemeni-jewish-culture-in-israel", "ancient-jewish-settlements-of-judaea", "1949-establishments-in-israel", "establishments-in-the-kingdom-of-judah"] topic_path: "geography/israel" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eshtaol" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::data[format=table title="Infobox Israel village"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| settlement_type | Moshav |
| name | Eshtaol |
| hebname | אשתאול |
| image | EshtaolFeb282022.jpg |
| founded | 8000 BCE (Earliest settlement) |
| 1200 BCE (Israelite settlement) | |
| 1600s or earlier (Arab village) | |
| 1949 (Israeli moshav) | |
| country | |
| district | jerusalem |
| council | Mateh Yehuda |
| affiliation | Kibbutz Movement |
| popyear | |
| population | |
| population_footnotes | |
| pushpin_map | Israel jerusalem#Israel |
| pushpin_mapsize | 250 |
| coordinates | |
| website | www.eshtaol.org.il |
| :: |
| settlement_type = Moshav | name = Eshtaol | hebname = אשתאול | image = EshtaolFeb282022.jpg | founded = 8000 BCE (Earliest settlement) 1200 BCE (Israelite settlement) 1600s or earlier (Arab village) 1949 (Israeli moshav) | founded_by = | country = | district = jerusalem | council = Mateh Yehuda | affiliation = Kibbutz Movement | popyear = | population = | population_footnotes = | pushpin_map = Israel jerusalem#Israel | pushpin_mapsize = 250 | coordinates = | website = www.eshtaol.org.il Eshtaol () is a moshav in central Israel, and a biblical location mentioned in the Books of Joshua and Judges and in the first Book of Chronicles. Located 6 km north of the city of Beit Shemesh, it falls under the jurisdiction of Mateh Yehuda Regional Council. In , it had a population of .
Hebrew Bible
Eshtaol was in the territory allotted to the Tribe of Dan (), and located on the border of the tribe of Judah. Although listed in as being a city in the plain, it is actually partly in the hill country, partly in the plain. According to the biblical narrative, Samson began to be agitated by the Spirit of God in the locality of Mahaneh Dan (the camp of Dan), the district "between Zorah and Eshtaol" (). After his death in Gaza, Samson's body was brought back for burial in the tomb of his father Manoah between Eshtaol and Zorah (). Five scouts from Eshtaol and Zorah were sent out to find a land suitable for the tribe of Dan. ().
History and archaeology
Neolithic settlement
::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/80/Eshtaol_Forest.jpg" caption="[[Eshtaol Forest"] ::
In 2013, archaeological excavations conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority near Eshtaol discovered the oldest structure ever found in the Shfela region of the Judean Hills, dating back to the first permanent human settlement in the area some 10,000 years ago. Excavations at the site continued into 2014, led by A. Yaroshevich on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority.
Modern Eshtaol
Eshtaol was founded on the lands of the depopulated Arab villages of Ishwa' and Islin after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. It was part of a plan to establish villages in the Jerusalem corridor to create a contiguous bloc between the coastal plain and Jerusalem. The first residents were Jewish immigrants from Yemen, who settled there in December 1949. They worked in land reclamation and forestry. The Jewish National Fund (JNF) established a 45-dunam nursery in Eshtaol to supply saplings for JNF forests. Later, the moshav branched out into poultry and other agricultural enterprises. At the end of the 1990s, the moshav absorbed 100 new families.
References
Bibliography
- Golani, Amir (27 November 2008): Eshta’ol, Hadashot Arkheologiyot – Excavations and Surveys in Israel, No. 120.
- Solimany, Gideon (11/03/2009): Eshta’ol Junction, Hadashot Arkheologiyot – Excavations and Surveys in Israel, No. 121.
- Golani, Amir and Dan Storchan (1 January 2009): Eshta’ol, Hadashot Arkheologiyot – Excavations and Surveys in Israel, No. 121.
- Freikman, Michael (23 July 2010): Eshta’ol, Hadashot Arkheologiyot – Excavations and Surveys in Israel, No. 122.
- Storchan, Dan (20 December 2010): Eshta’ol, Survey of Sha‘ar Ha-Gāy–Hartuv Junctions, Hadashot Arkheologiyot – Excavations and Surveys in Israel, No. 122.
- Storchan, Dan (22 November 2012): Eshta’ol, Hadashot Arkheologiyot – Excavations and Surveys in Israel, No. 124.
References
- [[Google Maps]] using [[Route 38 (Israel). Route 38]]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20000422202856/http://www.ancientsandals.com/overviews/eshtaol.htm Eshtaol – Walking in Their Sandals – location profile]
- Hasson, Nir. (25 November 2013). "Rare, 10,000-year-old Structure Emerges From Judean Hills". [[Haaretz]].
- [[Israel Antiquities Authority]], [http://www.antiquities.org.il/m_digs_eng.aspx?shana=2013 Excavators and Excavations Permit for Year 2013], Survey Permit # A-6869. The excavation was led by archaeologists Amir Golani, Ron Beeri, Jacob Vardi, and Benjamin Eliezer Storchan on behalf of [[Israel Antiquities Authority]] (IAA).
- [[Israel Antiquities Authority]], [http://www.antiquities.org.il/m_digs_eng.aspx?shana=2014 Excavators and Excavations Permit for Year 2014], Survey Permit # A-7163
- he
- Khalidi, Walid. (1992). "All that Remains". Institute for Palestine Studies.
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